Missouri State Guards

HISTORICAL NOTES:
The Missouri General Assembly passed the "Military Bill" on May 11, 1861, in direct response to the Camp Jackson Affair in St. Louis the previous day. The final version of the act approved on May 14 authorized the Governor of Missouri, Claiborne Fox Jackson, to disband the old Missouri Volunteer Militia and reform it as the Missouri State Guard to resist a feared invasion by the Union Army.

The foremost authorities on the Missouri State Guard recently estimated that at least 34,000 Missourians served in the Guard at one point or another during the war and that the actual number was probably near 40,000. The Guard's strength peaked at approximately 23,000 to 28,000 in September 1861 with approximately 5,000 in Southeast Missouri in M. Jeff Thompson's First Division operating independently of the main body surrounding Price near Lexington. OFFICERS:

Commander in Chief C. F. Jackson

Major General Maj. Gen. Sterling Price

Adjutant General Brig. Gen. Warwick Hough

BATTLES:

Battle of Boonville

Battle of Cole Camp

Battle of Carthage

Battle of Athens

Battle of Wilson's Creek

Battle of Dry Wood Creek

Battle of Liberty

First Battle of Lexington

Battle of Fredericktown

First Battle of Springfield

Skirmish at Blackwater Creek

Skirmish at Island Mound

Battle of Roan's Tan Yard

Battle of Pea Ridge

Price's Raid

ROSTERS:
The rosters of this unit contains the names of 1724 men. The Guard's divisions were based on congressional districts and composed of the following counties: (Commanders are listed in parentheses)

First District/First Division: St Francois, Ste. Genevieve, Perry, Cape Girardeau, Bollinger, Madison, Iron, Wayne, Stoddard, Scott, Mississippi, New Madrid, Butler, Dunklin, and Pemiscot. (Nathaniel W. Watkins, M. Jeff Thompson)

Second District/Second Division: Scotland, Clark, Knox, Lewis, Shelby, Marion, Monroe, Ralls, Pike, Audrain, Callaway, Montgomery, Lincoln, Warren, and St. Charles. (Thomas A. Harris, Martin E. Green)

Third District/Third Division: Putnam, Schuyler, Sullivan, Adair, Linn, Macon, Chariton, Randolph, Howard, and Boone. (John B. Clark, Sr.)

Fourth District/Fourth Division: Gentry, Harrison, Mercer, Grundy, De Kalb, Daviess, Livingston, Clinton, Caldwell, Ray, Carroll, and Worth. (William Y. Slack)

Fifth District/Fifth Division: Atchison, Nodaway, Holt, Andrew, Buchanan, Platte, and Clay. (Alexander E. Steen, Col. James P. Saunders)

Sixth District/Sixth Division: Saline, Pettis, Cooper, Moniteau, Cole, Osage, Gasconade, Maries, Miller, Morgan, Camden, Pulaski, and Phelps. (Mosby Parsons)

Seventh District/Seventh Division: Dallas, Laclede, Texas, Dent, Reynolds, Shannon, Wright, Webster, Greene, Christian, Stone, Taney, Douglas, Ozark, Howell, Oregon, Carter, and Ripley. (James H. McBride)

Eighth District/Eighth Division: Jackson, Lafayette, Cass, Johnson, Bates, Henry, Benton, Hickory, Polk, St. Clair, Vernon, Cedar, Dade, Barton, Jasper, Lawrence, Newton, McDonald, and Barry. (James S. Rains)

Ninth District/Ninth Division: St. Louis, Washington, Franklin, Jefferson, and Crawford. (Never formally organized following the Camp Jackson Affair, units served with other commands.) (Meriwether Lewis Clark, Sr., Daniel M. Frost)

BIBLIOGRAPHY:
REFERENCES:

REF: Crute, Joseph H., Units of the Confederate States Army